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Bill would send wolves to inhabit West Side, too

Kretz acknowledges the bill may never get a hearing. It’s an attempt to make a point for another, more serious bill he expects to introduce in the next week. That bill would allow the state to take wolves off its endangered species list in Eastern Washington, while keeping them on the list in other parts of the state.

OLYMPIA – State Rep. Joel Kretz wants Western Washington to enjoy one of the “advantages” Eastern Washington has: wolves.

Kretz,
R-Wauconda, has introduced a bill that would allow the Department of
Fish and Wildlife to “translocate” wolves captured in Eastern Washington
to the other side of the state where, he said, they seem to have
more fans.

“If wolves are so wonderful, I don’t think we should be hoarding them in my district,” he said.

Wolves
are a protected species under state law and can’t be trapped or hunted.
Seven or eight of the state’s nine recognized packs are in his
northeastern Washington district, he said.

Under his proposal,
captured wolves could be sent anywhere that has at least 50 square miles
of territory, the amount needed for an adult wolf to roam. That would
include some islands in Puget Sound, and the Olympic Peninsula. The
entire state would “enjoy the re-establishment of this
majestic species,” the bill says.

The department does not
currently relocate captured wolves out of their territory, although it
does tag or put radio collars on some before releasing them.

He said he asked some Western Washington legislators to co-sponsor the bill but didn’t get any takers.

Kretz
himself is not a fan of wolves or their supporters, and he acknowledges
the bill may never get a hearing. It’s an attempt to make a point for
another, more serious bill he expects to introduce in the next
week. That bill would allow the state to take wolves off its endangered
species list in Eastern Washington, while keeping them on the list in
other parts of the state. The federal government already has taken that
step, he said. That would allow ranchers to kill wolves attacking
livestock or pets and would possibly lay the groundwork for regulated
hunting like in some other Western states.